The Beginning: Prequel to Enlighten
by calzonayang
Summary: This is a oneshot based on when Meredith had appendicitis, as a prequel to Enlighten. This is mainly fluff/humour and very light-hearted. Enjoy.


**A/N: So, I decided to write a prequel to Enlighten, featuring Meredith, Addison, and Appendicitis. This is set roughly three or four weeks before Chapter 1 of Enlighten.**

 **I hope you enjoy, and thanks for reading. If you've found this and want to read Enlighten, visit my profile.**

"Ow," Meredith muttered, her hand pressed to her abdomen as they walked along the corridor. She'd just got to the hospital and her chest felt tight as she thought about the situation she was likely to encounter. She'd broken up with Derek a few weeks ago and he'd been ignoring her ever since. The last time she'd seen Finn was when Doc died, despite the many texts he'd sent her since then.

"Woman's troubles?" Cristina asked, bounding up to her with her stethoscope in her hand.

"No," Meredith said, her voice strained, "I think the stress of… _this_ is getting to me. I think I'm getting an ulcer."

"McDreamy and McVet are giving you an ulcer?" Cristina looked at her.

"Not them." Meredith blurted out, biting her lip when she realised what she'd said. Cristina raised an eyebrow as they joined Bailey and the other interns at the nurse's station.

"You alright, Dr Grey?" Bailey asked, trying to hide her concern as the intern sank slowly onto the edge of a gurney, a grimace of pain on her face.

"Sure, Dr Bailey…" she murmured, closing her eyes for a second.

Derek walked past and crossed paths with Addison, who gave him a death glare. He greeted Meredith without looking at her, unaware that Addison was glaring at him like he had just murdered someone.

 _If looks could kill_ , Meredith thought. What was Addison's problem with Derek talking to Meredith anyway? Why did she care?

Bailey rolled her eyes and ignored them.

As they started their rounds, Meredith got up to walk slowly towards the nurse's station.

"Ow," she said again as a sharp pain hit her, radiating across her lower abdomen and intensifying. Everyone stood around her arguing about patients while Meredith leant on the desk wincing.

"Grey?" Bailey walked towards her, her arm outstretched, "what's wrong with you?"

Suddenly, a wave of nausea washed over her and she doubled over to vomit into a bin.

Cristina spun around to look at her. "Holy crap, are you pregnant?" she asked a little too loudly. Meredith glared at her, trying to shake her head, which only made her feel worse. She vomited again as Cristina held her hair back, looking concerned.

Meredith stood up properly and glared at her friend while Cristina tried not to laugh.

One look at Bailey told her that the resident was not impressed.

Meredith looked around to see everyone pretending not to stare at her.

Addison was standing at the bottom of the stairs, frozen in place by Cristina's comment, her eyes wide. Her expression was torn between pain and concern and here eyes were wide. Meredith's stomach flipped and she tried to look away from Addison's intense gaze.

"I am _not_ pregnant," she forced out, loudly enough that Addison might hear.

Bailey took over Cristina's place at Meredith's side and held her up while instructing Cristina, before escorting Meredith to a room. For a moment, she thought Addison looked like she was going to follow them, but she seemed to change her mind at the last second, remembering the patient files in her hands as she looked down.

Cristina and Bailey sat Meredith down on the bed and she lay down, her teeth gritted as the pain came and went in the right side of her abdomen. Bailey drew some blood and hooked her up to a monitor.

When she left, Cristina gave her friend an exam, her cold fingers palpating her skin.

"So, how's the thing going with McDreamy and McVet, now that you're pregnant?"

Meredith glared at her, the pain too distracting for her to respond.

"With McBaby!" Cristina pressed Meredith's abdomen and she groaned.

"I'm not pregnant," she repeated.

"Mer, I didn't think I was pregnant when I was pregnant-"

"Shut up. Was I this mean to you when you were pregnant?"

"I thought you said you weren't pregnant?" Cristina shook her head.

"She's not," Bailey said from the doorway.

Meredith rolled painfully onto her side and winced.

"Well, in that case," her voice was strained, "can I have some morphine?"

"You're _so_ high right now," Cristina smirked at her friend, signing the chart she was filling in with a flourish.

"No, I'm not," Meredith grinned, slurring each word slightly. "Doctors don't get high and I'm a doctor."

"I know you're a doctor, Mer."

"I don't know anything," Meredith frowned slightly, shrugging.

"Really?" Cristina rolled her eyes, chuckling.

"I thought I liked Derek, but I don't…. _and_ I thought I liked Finn, but I don't."

"You don't?"

"Nope," Meredith bit her lip, smiling.

"Really?"

"Yep."

Cristina closed the folder and looked back at Meredith, who was staring intently at the ceiling.

"I like someone else…" she said, turning her head to look at Cristina.

"Who is it now? McSteamy?"

"Nope," Meredith sighed and stared at the ceiling again for a while.

"Oh, well. I feel sorry for you," Cristina said, trying not to laugh.

"Why? Because I might die today?"

"You're not going to die."

"I'm me, something bad is going to happen. It always does… and I'd die as the… slutty intern who couldn't make a choice, right? Derek, Finn, Derek, Finn… it's ridiculous."

"Right, but none of that matters, because you'll be dead."

"Ex-actly," she said slowly.

Bailey cut her off by entering the room.

"How's your pain, Dr Grey?"

"You're pretty!" Meredith smiled, ignoring the question.

"Okay, pain over McBurney's point and elevated white cell count. Which indicates?" Bailey questioned, trying not to laugh at her intern.

"Appendi-" Cristina began

"Appendicitis!" Meredith interrupted, grinning at Bailey.

"Good. I have patients," Bailey excused herself. "Yang, your friend is being prepped for surgery which means you need to leave. Now."

Cristina rolled her eyes but left reluctantly. A few minutes passed as Meredith played with the IV tube in her arm, wincing when she noticed the purple bruise forming.

"Addison!" Meredith called, seeing the woman walk past her doorway. Maybe being high wasn't so bad after all. At least she could talk to Addison without stuttering like an idiot. "Doctor Montgomery Shepherd!"

Addison stopped and sighed, biting her lip. She entered the room after a few seconds of deliberation.

"You bellowed, Doctor Grey?" There was a hint of playfulness to her voice as she looked at Meredith.

"Hi."

"You certainly are, aren't you? And it's just Montgomery now. I am divorced," she smiled brightly at Meredith, her smile hiding how nervous she was.

"So," she continued, changing the subject, "you're not pregnant?"

"Nope."

"Okay, well I have to-"

"Look, I know you hate me and all, and you don't owe me anything..." Meredith said. "Nothing..." her voice broke slightly, "noooooo thing." "What was I saying?" She asked, bewildered.

Ignoring her question, Addison slid Meredith's chart back into its slot and put a hand on her hip, her jaw clenched tightly as she thought about what to say.

"I don't hate you. I can't. I don't hate you, Meredith. Don't ever say that."

"Okay," Meredith said weakly, "I don't hate you either."

"Good," Addison replied honestly, her tone uncharacteristically soft.

"I have appendicitis," Meredith stated with a frown.

"You do," Addison nodded.

"I might die," she mused, completely unfazed.

"Meredith, we let interns do this surgery. You are not going to die. I wouldn't allow it."

"Well, that's a relief. I have things to do…" she smiled suddenly.

"Okay," Addison returned her smile. "I'll leave you to it."

"Wait, please don't go," Meredith looked so upset by the idea that Addison couldn't leave even if she'd wanted to.

"Hey, don't worry. I can stay. I'll just page Karev to check on my patients."

"Thank you."

"So, George never told me about your patient with two uteruses…" she paused, frowning. "Uteruses? Is that a word?"

"Meredith, yes, it's a word. Your point's over here somewhere."

"Right; George never told me – what happened?"

"Well," Addison began, sitting down on the bed next to Meredith, a bright sparkle of happiness in her eyes, despite her knowledge that Meredith probably wouldn't remember this when she woke up after the surgery.

Cristina watched the pair from the nurse's station, shaking her head in disbelief as Meredith giggled at something Addison was saying.

"You don't think…" she said to Bailey.

"Think what, Yang?"

"Never mind."


End file.
